Unexpected Feelings
by mjfoxfan1984
Summary: Alex has a confession to make to Skippy. Does Skippy feel the same? Oneshot. Warning, SLASH!


"Hey Alex! What's up?" Skippy Handleman entered the house, noticing straightaway that his friend didn't seem himself at all. "You seem kind of, I don't know, edgy. Distracted even. Is everything alright?"

Alex sighed. There _was_ something on his mind. But Alex P Keaton was stubborn, and didn't talk about his feelings. As far as his family and friends were concerned, he didn't have problems. And even if he did, he couldn't discuss them with anyone. Especially not Skippy. He just couldn't. "No, I'm ok Skip," he forced a smile. "Just tired, that's all."

"Ok then!" Skippy was obviously satisfied with his answer, as he immediately turned into his usual, annoying self, firing questions at Alex about his sister, Mallory.

"No, Skippy, Mallory's not here, and even if she was, she wouldn't want to be around you, as you know," Alex told Skippy, sounding quite annoyed. "She's with Nick now, you remember him, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, yeah I do," Skippy fell silent, looking saddened.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound harsh," said Alex. "I sort of know how you're feeling...you know, the whole unrequited love issue." He realised as soon as he'd stopped talking that he'd let slip something that he hadn't been planning on opening up about, and immediately felt angry with himself.

Skippy stared at Alex, shocked. Had his friend just admitted that something was bothering him? _Alex P Keaton, _the most arrogant, pompous guy he knew, admitting there was a problem in his life? Skippy couldn't quite believe it. Before he could say anything, Alex spoke again.

"Skippy, this is going to come as quite a shock, and I can't believe I'm about to say this out loud," Alex said, while nervously running his hands through his hair. "But I need to tell somebody, it's driving me crazy." He sat down across from Skippy, and fell silent, clearly unable to put into words what he was about to confess.

"Sure, what's up?" Skippy asked eagerly. Nobody had ever confided in Skippy Handleman before, least of all Alex P Keaton!

"Well, it's like this," Alex hesitated, trying to find the right words. "I'm, well, I'm gay," he finally blurted out. "At least, I think I am. I've had feelings for the same guy for a few months now, and although it could possibly a phase, I think it means much more than that." He finished there, looking too embarrassed to say anything further.

"Wow!" exclaimed Skippy, gaping at Alex. "You're not, you know, just kidding around, are you?"

"No, no I'm not," mumbled Alex, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him at that moment. "Look, you won't say anything, will you Skip? I don't want anyone to find out. Can you imagine what people would say? My reputation would be ruined," he laughed nervously.

"Of course I won't," answered Skippy, honoured that he had been trusted with a huge secret like this. "This guy you like, does he feel the same way?"

An unhappy look appeared on Alex's face. "I doubt it Skip. I know for a fact he's crazy about someone else. About my sister Mallory in fact." He stopped, realising that he had let the cat out of the bag.

But it seemed that Skippy hadn't even noticed. He said, "Wow, that's harsh Alex...I'm really sorry. So who..." he trailed off, suddenly realising what his friend had just said. He stared incredulously at Alex. "You mean, you have feelings for Nick?" he gasped.

Despite his embarrassment, Alex burst out laughing at his friend's stupidity. "Nick? No way! I meant someone else. Someone who has been crazy about Mallory for years, a long time before Nick came on the scene." He looked hard at Skippy, waiting for him to realise who this guy was.

It took a minute or two, as poor Skippy actually seemed to be thinking about who Alex's crush could be! He frowned to himself, while Alex couldn't help but grin. He really is slow, thought Alex, but with fondness.

Eventually, Skippy's mouth dropped open. "You mean _me?_ You have a crush on _me, _Alex?" he laughed, nervously, wondering if his friend was playing a joke on him.

"You, Skippy," replied Alex, grinning at the time it had taken for the goofy guy to actually realise that. "I know, it sounds ridiculous. But yeah, I really like you, a lot."

"Wow, nobody ever felt this way about me before!" Skippy exclaimed. "I, well, don't really know what to say!" He was grinning, but sounded equally as embarrassed as Alex.

Alex looked depressed again. "It's ok Skippy, I understand. And I don't expect anything to come from this, obviously, I've seen how mad you are about Mallory. I know we can't be together." He smiled at his friend, but sadly. "I just hope we can continue being friends anyway. I may find you extremely annoying, as well as idiotic and goofy -" at this stage he smirked, the real Alex Keaton shining through again! "but it wouldn't feel right without you in my life, I guess, and, well -"

He was cut off suddenly as, without warning, Skippy kissed him, almost knocking him over in the process. Too stunned to respond to the kiss, Alex pulled away, staring at Skippy.

"Ok..that came as a bit of a shock," chuckled Alex, a little unsure about what just happened. "Where did that come from?"

Skippy looked at Alex. "Well, I had a little trouble finding the right words to, you know, admit I do feel the same way. So I chose to _show_ you," he laughed, and pulled Alex towards him again.

After that, neither of them said anything more. They didn't need to.


End file.
